Abstract specification of synchronous data types for VLSI and proving the correctness of systolic network implementations

A combined methodology is presented for specifying abstract synchronous data types and proving the correctness of systolic network implementations. It is shown that an extension of the Parnas trace method of specifying software modules containing distinct access programs yields a natural method of specifying abstract synchronous data types that possess distinct access operators and are intended for implementation in VLSI. Associated systematic proof techniques are presented, and the correctness of several novel systolic network implementations of familiar data types is established. The methodology appears to be naturally suited to systolic network implementations with their associated rippling of control flow and data flow. The important distinction between systolic control-flow networks and systolic data-flow networks is presented